Hey guys, Allie here :) So this is one of my lighter fics. I don't want to get too dark with the Dramione yet :) Sorry if its a little scattered, drop me a line if you think I can fix it somehow, this actually used to be about three chapters... So, thanks :)

Love you all!

Allie

Chapter 1: The Patronus

It is quite common for a patronus to change shape during one's lifetime. It responds to happiness in the memories, and when those memories are centered around a certain person, they make take the shape that resembles that person. It is said that the patronus takes the form of the one you love. It is not uncommon for a patronus to change shape more than once, either. It is connected to the heart of the magic inside, and therefore when that heart is affected, so is the patronus.

For example, when someone suffers a great loss of the heart…

Hermione slammed the book shut and scrubbed at her eyes. All of them said the same thing! She threw book after book into her magically expanded bag and stormed out of the library.

This cannot be happening! She raged to herself.

Storming down the many staircases, she missed a trick step and when it vanished, went flying down the stairs. She tumbled into a heap on the landing and curled up into a little ball around herself, silent tears streaming down her face.

She lay there for a moment, then silently berated herself for being in such a compromising position. The portraits were looking at her in silent concern. She only shook her head mutely and gathered up her belongings.

When she finally made it back to the Heads' common room, she had performed three drying spells on her face, and one scourgify for good measure, but she was almost positive there were still some revealing signs that she had been crying. She sighed, that's all she needed right now, was for the other Head to know she had been crying.

"Alea iacta est." She mumbled to the tapestry which then dissolved into a rather ornate door.

Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath and pushed the door open; ready to face whatever he could throw at her.

What she saw, however, threw her off-balance. He was pacing furiously, only to come to an abrupt halt when she entered. His stormy grey eyes focused on her, and he looked angry and almost a little, concerned?

She froze also. They stood there, for a moment, locked in eye-contact, neither of them able to look away. Then he seemed shake himself out of it, "Where the hell have you been, Granger!?" He was mad, then. She must have imagined the concern part. "Never mind, I don't care, just make sure you find a replacement for your rounds next time. If I have to cover for you with Longbottom one more time, I'll end him." He snarled the last bit, turned on his heel and stomped up the stairs to his room.

"I never asked for you to cover for me, Malfoy!" She heard the door slam a few beats later.

Dropping her bag on her way to her favorite squishy arm chair, she muttered obscenities about the "ferret-faced blonde." I can't believe I forgot it was my night to patrol. She sighed and dropped her head into her hands, massaging her temples.

This is worse than third-year. She was exhausted, between Head Girl duties, and being in the Order tracking down the Death Eaters that had managed to escape, she was living off of a few hours of sleep whenever she could get them.

And, on top of all of that, she was currently living with the one and only, Draco Bloody Malfoy. It could have been anyone else, but no. It had to be Draco Bloody Malfoy. Awarded Head Boy for his heroics during the war. He had followed his godfather's footsteps and joined the Order, whilst playing Voldemort's right-hand man. Which meant Hermione had to work with him inside and outside of school. There was no escape.

Malfoy had been the one to catch his father, putting him in Azkaban, permanently.

He was quieter now, less inclined to start fights, especially with the Golden Trio, since two significant thirds were just itching for a way to send him to be with his father. But he was still just as arrogant, especially with the other Slytherins. Always their Prince.

Maybe now more than ever, subtly trying to stomp out the last of the blood supremacy ideals. If Draco Malfoy, Pureblood Extraordinaire, held close to Voldemort himself, switched sides, then maybe it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Almost everyone had come back after the war. The Eighth-Years, or so they had named themselves, resumed their places in school, as most of them had been pulled out early during their final term.

There were a few exceptions, too many of Slytherin's students had been corrupted, and they had fought against the rest of Hogwarts. They had not received their owls that summer, inviting them back. Hermione guessed most of them now attended Durmstrang.

She shrugged it off, not really caring enough to worry about what ex-Slytherin's were up to.

Instead she grasped her wand, muttered an incendio to relight the fire, and sat down to reread her notes on patronuses.

Patronuses are complicated. They take your sense of security, what makes you happy in the face of utter despair, what combats the fear and strife that you stand against. Therefore, it takes the shape of your protector, or of what you are protecting, in some cases .Because it is so connected to your heart, your inner light, it requires a happy memory. That memory, when it is centered on someone important, the Patronus can take the shape of the animal specific to them. It is also very common for a witch's or wizard's patronus to change over time. When one falls in love, the patronus follows the heart.

This book almost ended up in the fire, Hermione threw this one so hard. She covered her face with a pillow and screamed. Firmly stuck in denial, she lifted her head and grasped her wand lying on the table.

She cast her patronus, summoning up the happiest memory of her and Ron she could, when he kissed her after the Battle of Hogwarts.

"Expec—" But despite all of her efforts, a certain blonde ferrety face popped into her mind's eye. " -to Patronum!"

A bright, silvery wolf streamed out of her wand's tip, and ran around the room. He came to a stop in front of her, and seemed to say, What, you called me out here for nothing? Then dissolved away.

She knew that memory, the one where they had found out about their living arrangements. He had tentatively offered a smile at her, waiting to see if she would hex him. "Well, Granger, I guess we're stuck with eachother."

She had just stared at him, unwilling to believe that his face was capable of making that expression. It haunted her later that night, that shy smile, leaving her to come to think she had imagined it. He didn't offer it up again for some time.

I'm just tired, she rationalized. It's just been a long day, no, a long week, with everything going on at Headquarters. I'm just tired. I'm overworked, I didn't get enough sleep, I'm just tired.

But try as she might, the books don't lie.

Hermione buried her head in the pillow once more and sobbed.

She was in love with Draco Bloody Malfoy.